KTVU apologizes for major SFO crash coverage blunder

OAKLAND — Just a few days after issuing a news release touting the efficiency and accuracy of its coverage of the Asiana Flight 214 crash, KTVU found itself apologizing for a major on-air blunder.

On today's noon newscast, the Oakland station claimed it had "just learned the names of the four pilots on board" the jetliner that crashed at SFO last Saturday and ran the names on screen as the anchor read them aloud. That broadcast can be seen here, but be warned it will be offensive to some.

It was apparent the names were wrong — somehow supplied by a devious prankster. And curiously, KTVU had reported the real names of two of the pilots — Lee Gang-guk and Lee Jeong-min — on Wednesday.

About 15 minutes later, the station corrected its mistake, but claimed an NTSB official had confirmed the names. A further apology was issued online by KTVU vice president and general manager Tom Raponi:

"We sincerely regret the error and took immediate action to apologize, both in the newscast where the mistake occurred, as well as on our website and social media sites. Nothing is more important to us than having the highest level of accuracy and integrity, and we are reviewing our procedures to ensure this type of error does not happen again."

The NTSB later issued an apology, saying a summer intern had confirmed the names "outside the scope of his authority."

Earlier in the week, KTVU issued a release in which Channel 2 news director Lee Rosenthal also took pride in what he deemed to be mistake-free coverage.

"Being first on air and on every platform in all aspects of our coverage was a great accomplishment," he said, "but being 100 percent accurate, effectively using our great sources and social media without putting a single piece of erroneous information on our air, is what we are most proud of as a newsroom."